A radical exploration of the power and public (mis)representation of women’s bodies, from ancient mysteries to the present day.

Wild and strange stories have circulated about the female body since antiquity. While legends of poisoned hymens and fanged vaginas circulated, the first female figure – Mother Earth – was recreated as a crooked rib. Ranging from the absurd to the empowering, these myths not only survive but continue to wield power today. The Shrinking Goddess brings together myths about the female form and traces the subsequent male efforts to ‘tame’ it. Mineke Schipper examines how women’s bodies have been represented since records began – the first Venus and vulva figures date to 40,000 BCE – and around the world. Drawing together the vast reservoir of myths, proverbs, art, science and scripture that shape how women are seen in the present day, Schipper reclaims the female body as a source of power. Readers of Angela Davis, Mary Beard, Audre Lorde, Betty Friedan and Germaine Greer will want to read this book.